How It All Started
Minimalism is in, but a bare wall is just boring.
Daniel Yonho An, an avid art collector, has been adorning his walls for over 20 years from gallery visits and art festivals.
He saw a need for those, like him, to easily find cherished pieces that could fill the walls of their home gallery.
Implementing skills developed from his degrees in Master of Fine Arts and PhD in computer science, he set out to create a platform where users could find unique and affordable pieces from talented artists in an online gallery.
Daniel formed an art curation team in San Francisco and an engineering team in Seoul to create Artalleys, on online art marketplace and platform for buyers and artists.
What was your vision in creating Artalleys?
I wanted to introduce people to great artists and fine art without breaking the bank. Galleries usually sell their pieces for about $20,000 US. But there’s so much impressive art out there that don’t land in galleries. There are online channels for buying art, but I’ve found that there is a lack of trust when buying through these channels.
How do you maintain credibility and trust in buying art on Artalleys?
We create profiles for each artist selling on our platform. And we offer a 1-1 chatting system, where the audience can discuss the pieces with the artists directly, similar to how artists showcase their work in traditional galleries. All original art is delivered with the artist’s signature.
How do you find artists to showcase on Artalleys?
My team does the legwork needed to search out relatively unknown and talented artists by scouring art fairs throughout the world. We select artists and curate artwork ranging in oil paintings, digital art, and limited edition prints.
Challenges Overcome
How has the platform evolved since its first launch?
Artalleys originally integrated craft work from artists throughout remote towns in Asia. However, with our target audience being Americans, we had trouble finding credible artists that could also speak English and interact through online English transactions. We decided to focus on English-speaking artists worldwide and traditional wall art.
Do you focus mainly on showcasing Asian artists?
Great art is found everywhere, and we’re not limiting Artalleys’ artists to Asia. However, because our office is currently in Seoul, we’ve had the chance to connect with some rising talent in Korea.
We also recently found an amazing Turkish painter, who had issues with receiving payments from the US. We’re happy that we can find a platform for him to showcase his portfolio and sell his pieces.
Looking Ahead
Artalleys is continuing to develop their shipping structure, so that the artist doesn’t have to pay the shipping fee.
They’re also expanding to offline markets by showcasing their curated pieces in art fairs in San Francisco.
With over 1500 curated pieces currently showcased on Artalleys, they’re looking to expand its selection. However, they don’t want to ‘overwhelm’ the consumer, and are aiming to keep their showcase between 10,000 – 15,000 selections and 5,000 – 7,000 artists.
“It’s such a joy to stumble upon a great piece of art. Artalleys aims to introduce our audience not only to their next cherished piece, but to the artists’ stories behind its creation.”
Current artists can be viewed and their artwork purchased on www.artalleys.com.
